As an alternative to the much too expensive curved screen, Frex has released a canopy to be used with an ordirnary projector. This looks very promising and a bargain in comparison. You can also check out this Youtube video of the canopy:

Curved monitor finally here but pricey

I wrote earlier in this blog about the Alienware curved monitor but since then there hasn't been much information available. Now it seems that NEC is finally about to release one but it certainly does not come cheap! It's announced to cost around $8000 so it will be out of the scope for my current project.

You can read more about it here.

Category: [cat_hw]

I use the Logitech G25 for racing today since my red Momo Wheel broke, but now the FREX SimWheel is finally available. It looks really good and this will be my prefered wheel when I finally get the sim room in order... I am still set on creating this room, however, as usual in life things have to take priority. I am hoping that AlienWare curved monitor will come soon though and that it won't cost an arm and a leg, but we'll see :)

You can also see this wheel in action below:



Category: [cat_hw]

Alienware Curved Monitor

Finally someone has decided to create a product I have long been wondering why it doesn't already exist. It's a curved monitor by Alienware and it should be released later on this year (after the summer probably).

Spec's look very promising with a response time of 0.02(!) ms due to rearprojecting DLP rather than LCD. Aspect ratio is 16:5, it's 42 inches and resolution is 2880x900.

I still (!) haven't purchased a projector for my SimRoom and I am very tempted to get one of these instead but I fear they may cost a LOT of money :)

Have a look at this video - looks great!

You can also find more information about it here!

Note that it may be worth selling your wife and children should they come in the way of getting this unit.

Category: [cat_hw]

Curved Screen Update

I am still very much focused on using a curved screen with a projector (see my previous posts) - and here is a progress update video of an upcoming Frex curved screen.



It surely looks like a great "seamless" envionment to me :)
Category: Hardware [cat_hw]

New Computer and Wheel

Ok, I have now put together the new PC containing the following gear:

• Intel Quad Core Q6600 overclocked to 3.0GHz
• Gigabyte DQ6 motherboard
• 4 GB memory
• nVidia 8800GTX 768MB
• 2 x 250GB RAID0 OS/programs/games disk for speed (160MB/sec)
• 2 x 500GB RAID1 data disk for redundancy
• Windows Vista 64bit
• Antec P182 box
• Corsair 620W PSU

"It's a silent beast :)"

Also, my Red Momo wheel broke so I urgently had to get a new one. I was hoping to wait for the Frex FFB wheel but that is still a few months away so I ended up buying a Logitech G25. I must say that I am VERY happy with this wheel. The G25 pedals are also great but I will still replace them with Cannon Simulation Technologies CST-3B for a more solid construction. Finally, the G25 gear stick is of very cheap quality and will definitely be replaced by another H-shifter, probably the Frex HShift+ still.
Category: My SimRoom [cat_sr]

Progress update

I have finally been paid this month and first step is to buy the new PC. I have decided to use my current PC (P4, 3.6GHz with nVidia 7800 GTX) for the SimRoom and get a new machine for other use. I will be getting the Intel Quad Core 6600 as soon as they release it with proper stepping technology to preserve some voltage and heat (should I decide to overclock it).
Category: My SimRoom [cat_sr]

Air Motion Seat

A friend of mine found this article on TechEBlog about the Air Motion Seat that looks like a nifty invention. I've also embedded the video below:



I haven't found any details on pricing about this one yet, but it will probably not fit within my budget I'm sure :)
Category: Hardware [cat_hw]

DIY H-Shifter

The H-Shifter that I have put on my shopping list will set me back 2270 SEK and in an attempt to reallocate some funds in my budget I am looking at some DIY H-Shifter projects on the net to see if this is something I should also attempt.

It seems like some handy work along with a cheap USB GamePad and the ALShift utility by Act-Labs would go quite far in putting your own shifter together.

I've found some web-pages where people have posted their H-shifters and it will be useful for knowledge, tips and tricks and inspiration:
H-Shifter Project - 8 gears with modification plates for 4+R, 5+R and 6+R plus Sequential Mod
H-Shitfer Project - 6 gear project
Project Web H-Shifer - 6+R project

While looking at these DIY projects I also realised that I haven't really considered the Act-Labs products before. They have a H-shifter that costs $106USD which is a lot cheaper than the one from FrexGP. It comes with 4 extra shifter-plates:

Category: Hardware [cat_hw]

2.35:1 Ratio Anamorphic Lens

Being a bit odd, I was dreaming about the SimRoom last night and I thought it would be interesting to have an even wider screen as in racing sims it's quite important to see what is happening on the sides rather than what is going on above your car or under the bonnet/hood (leave that to the virtual mechanics!). As far as I know there aren't many manufacturers of projectors capable of displaying 2.35:1 ratio screens so I had a look for lenses and there seem to be quiet a few lenses on the market for this purpose. Amongst others I came across Prismasonic and their cheapest lens for this purpose is the H400-series and it will do just this for you. They also have a calculator on their site that allows you to have a look how the lens will adjust projected image dimensions for a number of projectors.

So far, both the calculators I've found for optional lens and for calculating throw distance and screens sizes have the Sanyo PLV-Z5 which is supporting my case of buying that particular projector. It would probably have been nice to increase the resolution to a 1920x1080 projector - but they cost a lot more than 1280x720 projectors and hopefully the latter resolution is sufficient for this project.

The cheapest Prismasonic lens still costs over 5000 SEK so again, this will be beyond my budget and it is probably aimed at the home cinema boys that also spend more on speaker cables alone than I have allocated for this entire project :)
Category: Hardware [cat_hw]